With classes now in session there comes an anticipation that not only resonates from reading through new syllabi. The BYU basketball season is in full swing with both the men’s and women’s basketball teams playing Thursday against Loyola Marymount.
Students are excited and hopeful about this basketball season and can’t wait to see which of the players will lead their teams.
“I think they’re going to do well,” junior McKinlee Covey said. “We just got [Matt] Carlino, who will be big. The team is solid; they have solid players. This is an opportunity for the team to step up and be more unified.”
[/media-credit]
“I think the BYU team will be able to pull through without Jimmer,” junior Alyssa Lamprecht said.
The Cougars hold a 12-4 record and the team looks like it will continue to be successful.
In the three games BYU played last week, junior Brandon Davies averaged 21.0 points. Another player to keep an eye on is senior Noah Hartsock, who averages 17.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
“They’ll do fine this season, ” sophomore Josh Webster from Springville said. “I think they will make it into the second round (of the NCAA tournament).”
The Loyola Marymount Lions men’s team, BYU’s opponent Thursday night, has an 8-6 record this season and has averaged 71.1 points and 36.1 rebounds per game. During the Lions’ last game, against San Francisco, freshman C.J. Blackwell led all scorers with 19 points while sophomore Anthony Ireland led the team in rebounds with nine.
The women’s basketball team will play Thursday night in the Marriott Center. This is the first West Coast Conference game the women’s team has hosted. It is also the first time the opposing team, Loyola Marymount, will play in Provo.
The Cougar women hold a 12-3 record and have major players who will make a difference.
Sophomore Kim Parker leads the team, averaging 12.2 points per game, with senior Kristen Riley averaging 6.6 rebounds per game.
The Loyola Marymount women’s team holds a 4-10 overall record this season. The team averages 58.4 points per game, with junior Alex Cowling leading the offense with 14 points per game.
The men’s team will play at Loyola Marymount at 7 p.m. MST and the game can be seen on BYUtv. The women’s team will play at 5 p.m. MST in the Marriott Center. After the game tonight the women’s team will head to California to play against San Francisco.
